Self-threading weaving shuttle with plastic threading block



p 13, 1955 w. J. GOSSELIN 2,717,616

SELF-THREADING WEAVING SHUTTLE WITH PLASTIC THREADING BLOCK Filed Sept. 3. 1952 [7206 72507 :[fidS-S'Gliib 5 MM L z 4 Jar-M6 'ws.

United States Patent SELF-THREADING WEAVLNG SHUTTLE WITH PLASTIC THREADING BLOCK Wilfrid J. Gosselin, Methuen, Mass., assignor to US Bobbin & Shuttle Company, Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Rhode Island Application September 3, 1952, Serial No. 307,665

4 Claims. (Cl. 139-223) This invention pertains to shuttles of the self-threading type for use in automatic looms. customarily such shuttles are of wood (although sometimes faced with a plastic, or plastic-impregnated fiber) and have a metallic threading block set into the wood at the forward end of the shuttle body. The threading block is usually a casting of substantial weight; its thread-contacting surfaces must be smoothed in one way or another to avoid undue abrasion of the yarn; and it must be securely bolted to the shuttle body to prevent it from becoming loose during use. Furthermore metal blocks, unless protected from contact with the thread, by the use of porcelain or other wear-resistant materials, are quickly cut by the rapidly running yarn, particularly some of the synthetic yarns such as rayon.

The present invention has for objects the provision of a shuttle of self-threading type having a non-metallic threading block which may be permanently secured to the wood of the shuttle body without recourse to the use of bolts or other metallic fasteners; to provide a shuttle having a threading block of light weight (as compared with the usual metal block); to provide a threading block of a non-metallic material which is highly resistant to cutting by the rapidly running yarn, whatever the character of the yarn; to provide a shuttle having. a threading block which is easy and cheap to make by simple, mechanical methods and which is easy to install, and to provide a threading block into which the yarn is easily drawn during replenishment and from which the yarn does not easily escape. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a weaving shuttle of the self-threading type embodying the present invention;

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary plan view of the shuttle body before introduction of the threading block;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the shuttle of Fig. I viewed from the thread delivery side;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1-, looking forwardly from the bobbin chamber;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section substantially in the plane indicated by the line4-4 of Fig; 1 showing the threading block but omitting the shuttle;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the threading block substantially in the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and with the rear face of the block at the lower part of the view; and

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the block removed from the shuttle, looking rearwardly.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a shuttle body of generally conventional shape, usually of wood, having the elongate bobbin chamber 2, the metallic tip 3, the yarn delivery eye E and the yarnguiding channel C. As illustrated in Fig. 1a, the shuttle body has a recess 4 extending forwardly from the bobbin 2,717,616 Patented Sept. 13, 1955 chamber 2-, this recess having the side walls 5 and 6, the front wall 7, and a bottom wall 8 (Fig. 3) which is spaced upwardly from the bottom surface of the shuttle body. This recess 4 is not symmetrically placed with reference tov the axis of the shuttle, so that the wood, at 1 is substantially thicker than the wood at 1*, thus the wall 6 of the recess is very close to the outer surface of that side of the shuttle body at which the yarn delivery eye E is located.

The threading block 9 is shaped so as completely to.

fill the recess 4, with its under surface resting upon the bottom 8 of the recess 4 and with its upper surface.

substantially fiat and flush with the upper surface of the shuttle body.

According to the present invention, this threading block 9 is of a non-metallic material whose Weight is substantially less than that of the usual metallic threading block, for example this threading block 9 may be of synthetic plastic resin either with or without a filler material, such as fiber. The plastic employed should be of a hard, shape retaining character andwhich is not readily cut by the rapidly running yarn where the latter contacts.

the block. Among the plastics useful for the purpose are resins of the phenol-formaldehyde type. Other resins suitable for the purpose, if sufiiciently low in. cost, are methyl methacrylate and the hard vinyl polymers. Styrene resins may likewise be employed.

Having chosen the desired resin, a block of propershape and dimensions to; fit snugly into the recess 4 is prepared and then by simple machine operations the desired thread passages are formed in this block. Thus, for example, a horizontal thread passage 11, extending forwardly from that face 10 of the block which is exposed at the forward end of the bobbin cavity of the shuttle, may be drilled by the use of an ordinary twist drill of the desired diameter. Preferably this passage 11 does not extend all of the way through the block 9 but terminates as indicated at 11 just to the rear of the forward face of the block. A second passage 12 is then drilled by means of a drill which may enter the rear end of the passage 11, the axis of the passage 12 being inclined upwardly and forwardly, this passage 12 also preferably now be formed by the use of a saw, this slot or saw.

kerf 13 extending downwardly from the upper surface of the block 9. and from front to rear of the block and down into the horizontal yarn passage 11. The block 9. may then be set into the recess 4 and permanently secured in the recess by means of an appropriate adhesive binding material, for instance a rubber or rubberlike cement, that is to say, a cement possessing resilient properties more or less like natural rubber, as indicated at S (Fig. 1).

A second saw kerf 15 is now, formed, this saw kerf extending diagonally rearwardly from the forwardv end of the saw kerf 13 and down through the block 9 and through the wood of the shuttle at 15 (Fig. 1.) to the level of the threading eye E (Fig. 2) of the shuttle body. Either before or after. this saw kerf 15 is formed, a horizontal thread corridor 16 (Fig. 5) is made by an appropriate cutter, this corridor extending outwardly from the horizontal thread passage 11 to the yarn delivery eye E of the shuttle body.

At any convenient point in the process steel wear pin P may be introduced at the desired points where the yarn changes its direction during the use of the shuttle.

A groove 17 of customary type is now formed in the top of the forward end of the shuttle body, this groove being extended rearwardly into the block 9 so that at its rear end it intersects the upper end of the passage 12. The formation of this groove, Where it intersects the passage 12, results in the provision of a threadretaining hook 18 (Fig. 6) at the intersection of the slots 13 and 15.

By reason of the fact that resinous materials of the type above referred to are highly resistant to the action of a rapidly running yarn it is unnecessary to provide the threading block with porcelain pins or eyes or other wear-resistant elements such as are commonly used in shuttles, the walls of the passages themselves having sufiicient wear resistance to prevent cutting by the moving yarn.

The surfaces formed by the employment of simple tools such as twist drills, saws and routing cutters are sufficiently smooth, in the material above suggested, to avoid any damaging abrasion of the yarn so that finishing operations are not required. The block 9 is substantially lighter in Weight than the usual metal block, thus decreasing the weight of the completed shuttle, which is of great advantage in weaving, and the block may be fixed in position without recourse to bolts or other metallic parts passing through the thin walls of the wooden shuttle body and which are the cause, in many instances of cracking of the shuttle body during use. By contrast, the adhesive bonding of the plastic block, whose outer surface is of substantial area, with the walls of the recess of the shuttle provides a reinforce for the end portion of the shuttle body, providing a connection between the opposite walls of the recess 4 which is even stronger than that of the wood itself.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been disclosed by way of example it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A weaving shuttle of self-threading type having a wooden body portion provided with a bobbin chamber and a lateral yarn delivery eye, the body portion also having a recess having opposed, spaced, vertical walls, the recess extending forwardly from the bobbin chamber, a rigid threading block of organic material, resistant to cutting by the yarn, filling said recess and with its upper surface substantially flush with the top surface of the shuttle body, the block having yarn passages and threading slots therein and rubber-like cement bonding each unit of area of the inner surface of each of the opposite, vertical walls of the recess to the respective opposed surfaces of the block, thereby providing a nonmetallic connection between the wooden walls of the recess such that cracking of said walls is avoided.

2. A weaving shuttle of self-threading type having a wooden body portion provided with a bobbin chamber and a lateral yarn delivery eye, the body portion also having a recess having opposed, spaced, vertical walls, the recess extending forwardly from the bobbin chamber, the recess being of a transverse width greater than that of the bobbin chamber and being unsymmetrically arranged so that it is nearer to that side of the shuttle body which has the yarn delivery eye than to the op-- posite side of the shuttle body, a block of a hard, tough, shape-retaining, synthetic resin, which is resistant to cutting by the yarn, completely filling said recess, said block having therein yarn passages and threading slots and non-metallic means bonding each unit of area of the shape-retaining, synthetic resin filling said recess, said mass of resin having therein a yarn passage extending substantially horizontally forward from the bobbin chamber, a substantially vertical, narrow, elongate threading slot extending downwardly from the upper surface of the plastic mass into said horizontal passage, a delivery corridor extending horizontally through the plastic mass from said horizontal passage to the yarn delivery eye of the shuttle, a narrow, elongate, diagonal slot extending from the forward end of said first-named slot downwardly through the plastic mass to said delivery corridor, the shuttle having a groove in its forward end, the plastic mass having a yarn-retaining hook adjacent to the rear end of said groove and at the intersection of said slots, and a rubber-like cement bonding each unit of area of the inner surface of each of the opposed,

vertical walls of the recess to the mass of resin which fills the recess whereby the wooden walls of the recess are rigidly connected.

4. A self-threading weaving shuttle having a body portion of wood providing a bobbin chamber and having a recess at its forward end which communicates with the bobbin chamber, a rigid block of hard, shape-retaining organic plastic filling said recess, the recess having opposed, spaced, vertical walls, the upper surface of the block being substantially fiat and flush with the upper surface of the body portion of the shuttle, said block having therein a cylindrical, substantially horizontal bore extending forwardly from the bobbin chamber, an upwardly and forwardly inclined bore leading from said horizontal bore, a saw kerf extending forwardly from the bobbin chamber and downwardly through the substance of the block into said horizontal bore, a second saw kerf extending diagonally from the forward end of said first saw kerf and downwardly through the substance of the block and through the wood of the shuttle to the yarn delivery eye, a corridor extending horizontally through the block from said horizontal bore to the delivery eye, the shuttle having a groove in its forward portion which extends diagonally and rearwardly and with its rear end intersecting said inclined bore, and an organic cement bonding each unit of area of the inner surface of each of the opposed, vertical walls of the recess to the plastic block which fills the recess whereby the wooden Walls of the recess are rigidly connected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,595,707 Cheney Aug. 10, 1926 2,320,590 Haley June 1, 1943 2,320,591 Haley June 1, 1943 2,326,828 Camp Aug. 17, 1943 2,423,917 Wilson July 15, 1947 2,445,899 Williams July 27, 1948 

